


not a failure

by rosesexbangsung



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Entrapdak, F/M, can you tell i think about these two like. all the time. esp 3x02, entrapta vents a little and hordak is like Agreeable Grunt, i care them, just a lil scene, spop season 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:42:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26639023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosesexbangsung/pseuds/rosesexbangsung
Summary: li'l entrapdak thing set in season 3 (3x02 to be specific)just kind of a warm up to prepare for the 31 day entrapdak challenge happening in october. i plan on writing drabbles for all the prompts! at least, i'll do my best.
Relationships: Entrapta/Hordak (She-Ra)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 50





	not a failure

“You know how you told me I wasn’t a failure?”

He blinked once in surprise. Neither had them had spoken in at least an hour. Though, nights in the lab were often like this. She would be too wrapped up in researching and experimenting to notice what time it was, but her body could tell, thus making her mind occasionally stray from the scientific in the late hours of the night.

Her question brought him back to hours before. Much to Hordak’s embarrassment, Entrapta had borne witness to his moment of muscle failure. He had never discussed his defect with anyone, despite such moments being a regular occurrence. It was not at all like him to show weakness. 

Still, she saw him in a far from favorable moment, and didn’t see him as a failure.

He had been cast away from Horde Prime over a defect in his cloning that was out of his own control. That was his fate. If he could not prove himself all powerful, he was worthless. Yet, he had completely passed out on her, unable to even stand up without his armor, and instead of judging him, or casting him aside, she listened to him. She...helped him. Before he could even finish explaining where he came from, she was already hot at work on a new suit of armor for him.

And yet, she offhandedly mentioned that she considered herself a failure. 

How could she see herself as a failure, he immediately asked himself. He had never met anyone with a mind like hers. When she explained further that she felt her failures lied in endeavors dealing with something as insignificant as interpersonal relationships, he could not see at all how that would make her a failure. As far as he was concerned, it was no fault of hers that Adora “abandoned” her or that Catra “neglects” her. She did not owe anybody anything. If they could not accept her highly developed mind and technological knowhow, they did not deserve having her in their company.

When he, rather boldly, made his thoughts on the matter known, she had met his gaze and tenderly wrapped her hair around his shoulder.

“Thanks. I like being your friend, too.”

He had never had a...friend before. In Horde Prime’s empire, he had no need of them. In the one he built for himself, he had no desire for them. But he couldn’t help but smile slightly at the use of the word. He couldn’t help but prefer time spent with her over time spent without. He couldn’t help feeling something else that he didn’t have a name for, and thus tried not to think about it too much.

After a short pause, he grunted in acknowledgement of her question.

“Well, like I said before, I don’t view failure as a bad thing.” She said, pulling up her face mask, and rubbing her tired eyes. She reached for her fizzy drink that sat beside a sleeping Emily and took a sip. “It is inevitable, as well as necessary for scientific growth and experimentation. But I’ve never really felt like I’ve had any...personal failures. At least, not outside of my work.” 

He looked over in her direction. He had gathered that she was the type that just said whatever was on her mind without thinking much about it first. She thought out loud, especially when it came to matters such as these, that she felt were a bit more out of her depth and required more analysis. It was quite the opposite of how he processed his thoughts. He couldn’t help but find it somewhat refreshing.

“I grew up on Dryl with only the robots I built for personal company.” Entrapta went on. “I don’t really get out much, and I don’t have a lot of social experience. I usually use that to turn social gatherings into opportunities for experiments.” She chuckled. She sounded a bit tired, but they both knew she wasn’t sleeping anytime soon. “I guess that’s how my mind works. Friendship isn’t easy for me. People don’t really understand me. The way I think, and why I say and do the things that I do. It doesn’t always bother me, it’s not really my top priority, but it is something I struggle with sometimes.” 

Hordak didn’t really know what to say. He wasn’t particularly good at these kinds of conversations. 

“I suppose I just don’t like not knowing how to solve things.” She brought the ends of her right pigtail to her chin as if it were a finger. “I love experimenting, but when it comes to working with other people, I don’t really know how to talk or act any differently. Besides, I wouldn’t really want to, anyway. It’s just conflicting because I know more than anything that not acting any differently will only yield the same results. I don’t know. I’ve always found machines far easier to work with than people.”

She finished off her drink before putting her glass back down next to Emily. She laughed to break the silence, then looked back at him. “How’s the armor holding up?”

He wasn’t expecting her to change the subject so fast. Though, at this point, he should know not to hold her mind to any sort of expectation. He cleared his throat before answering. “Quite well.” It had only glitched once in the last few hours, which was of course fixed by a few moments of Entrapta tinkering with it. “And...as I said before, anyone who would consider you a failure shows a very feeble mind.” It only took one short time of observing Entrapta’s dedication and craftiness to impress him, which was by no means an easy feat.

She smiled at him. “Thank you.” She raised her arms in a stretch, but stayed sitting where she had been working. “And y’know, nothing I said was about you. I find working and speaking with you comes very naturally. I never feel judged in here. Having a lab partner is more fun than I ever imagined!” With that, she pulled her face shield back down and returned to her work.

He couldn’t suppress another small smile at her enthusiasm. A friend was not something he ever felt he needed, but now that he had somehow made one, he had to admit to himself, and only to himself, that having her around was better than not.

Perhaps one day he would admit to himself, much less out loud, that her words, her company, and most of all, her efforts to aid him with his physical ailments, made him feel that same way.

Like he was not a failure.


End file.
